analyticsbox | Dec 15, 2022
Alarmist? You betcha. Why? Because I am alarmed. How many warnings of doom have we had? Malthus over 200 years ago: The world food production cannot keep up with the population growth. Ehrlich in the 1960’s: The coming shortages of material. Ice Age in the 1970’s. Global warming in the 1990’s until today (the most recent forecast is that we only have 9 years left until the world ends). None have happened, and we continue to underestimate the ingenuity of humans to deal with problems. BUT there is a man-made crisis on the horizon, I call it the Wolf of Washington. It will devour us if we let it. And the alarm arises from reading the financial reports prepared by the Department of the Treasury. The Executive Summary says in plain English: ‘The current fiscal path is unsustainable’. Should we believe that this is true? Yes and here is why. The Federal Debt and Unfunded Obligations of Social Security and Medicare is $112,000,000,000,000 as of September 30, 2021. If you have difficulty with so many zeros, that is $112 trillion dollars. That is $340,000 for every man, woman, or child in this country. The CBO forecast (Congressional Budget Office - nonpartisan government agency which does economic projections) is for an additional $14.5 trillion in debt over the next 10 years IF we just stick with the current programs (we won’t, our Congress cannot keep its hands in its pockets). Social Security goes broke in 12 years and Medicare in 4 years. In the forecasts, there is never a surplus from which we could pay the debt or interest on the debt. We service the debt by borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. That, my friend, is called a Ponzi Scheme. See Facts, No Spin #4 for a better understanding of Ponzi schemes. Inertia is a powerful force and if we ‘keep on keeping on’, this will not end well. And that is why I am alarmed. The Wolf will devour us unless we stop it now. BOTTOM LINE There is no fiscal sanity in Washington - we are out of control. The facts speak for themselves, I didn't make them up and they foretell a looming disaster. Folks, read the tea leaves for yourself. And if you need more convincing, look at the financial disaster underway right now in Europe. If you are not concerned then you are not paying attention. So what can one person do, join the Voters’ Lobby and send a message to your representatives in Washington. Tell them to fix this mess, NOW. On our website is a Contact Congress facility. Click here to express your opinion (you can send our prepared message or make up your own). LEARN ECONOMICS, THEN VOTE SMART